Big Change of direction. More wacky than previous albums. Tonnes of repetition lacks imagination and quickly disengages. Plenty of shouting, fast singing and some chanting too. Doesn't have those satisfying, more-ish rocky melodies of previous albums and generally struggles to be musical. A few of the songs are outright cheesy and desperate. Hayley's voice is the only plus point as, at times she resembles an early, playful gwen stefani more and more - but it is wasted on this album as the songs lack soul and too rarely does she get to bellow. Lyrically It has it's moments, but sounds a bit bitchy when it comes to the split. A messy, confused, poor album that doesn't know what it wants to be with too many fillers some of which are cringe-worthy. Two, maybe three tracks worth listening to, but believe the poor reviews- this is bad to the extent that they've taken their fans for granted. I suspect this album will not see the light of day with me. Awful in comparison to all previous albums.

I returned mine to a high street store as I was very disappointed with both sound quality and comfort.These headphones will please only those who seek very loud, very punchy base and sharp trebles. Forget midrange detail, balance, airiness or delicate trebles. These phones are all about bass and treble punch, resulting in a harsh, biased sound likely to leave your ears sore within 20mins. Sony completed the full house by making these headphones very tight fitting-tho maybe they would have flexed with time.

If you like your vocals or have any sensitivity to harsh treble or exaggerated bass, stay well clear.

I should add I paid £60, but even at £40 I would have been a little unhappy. Sony do make some excellent headphones, particularly if you pay a lot more, but these are not one of them. These are overpriced toys, £10 phones in fancy clothes.

A long time fan of No Doubt, but not that keen on Rock Steady (never play it) I am really pleased with this album. There is a return to reggae via interludes in a fair few of the songs and once again some slow, funky bass lines (inclusing probably the best bass 'riff' that I've ever heard, in the it's title track). These are bass lines which have far more feel to them than the ones used throughout Rock Steady. As the album passes the half way point it seems to become more influenced by Gwen's solo stuff, but the better solo stuff rather than any of the cheesey hairbrushmic songs that she did. There is a slight electric ska feel here and there, hence the front cover I guess. More synth than an 80's wedding, but its so well produced with original sounds that it really works. In fact production-wise it is probably one of the best albums I own. Most importantly, tho, her voice is more expressive again, albeit enhanced with some kind of resonance effect for much of the album. Think Return of Saturn in an angry mood and even the odd wail and gasp which made Tragic Kingdom one of my top fav albums and infact, if you listen carefully you can hear a return to the odd syncopated guitar strumming that gave TK it's pace and energy. This would have deserved five stars if they hadn't clearly been trying to appease Gwen's recently won fans in teh later half of the album, but hey I think they've earned that right!

Really happy with this product. The only slight concern is that the remote does not seem to work. However, I dont need it as I have wired up via RCA from head unit (perhaps why it doesn't work)?. Also have plenty of subwoofer controls on my headunit. You can adjust gain and frequency 'centre' on the unit.

It sounds very good, and is just as at home adding subtle bass to your sound or going really bass-heavy.

Instructions for wiring are excellent (diagram for each option), but no instructions/tips on mounting the unit or tweaking the sound.

Quite light, but not breaking any records. Quite slim, not the slimmest.The tip/first quarter is softer than most of the competitors' lesser 2.5lb tc, so esp's reputation for softness continues.This was ideal for me as I like to float fish and surface fish for large carp. Normally I use a barbel rod, but was losing fish when bullying near snags, so wanted a carp rod that could perform with light tackle and close range strikes as well as chuck PVA bags (if I could afford it I would have bought two rods).

My first fish on this was a 13lb'er in a very snaggy corner. The rod was well bent, but when I had to put the brakes on quite brutally, the rod effortlessly brought the fish to a smooth, quick stop. My next fish was 9lb and was hooked right on the edge of the upper lip. I was expecting it to come off whilst it was scrapping, but the soft action made the fight reassuringly smooth and the fish was landed.

The power is well down towards the butt end, but there is bags and bags of it. Looking forward to my first 20lb plus carp, but will stick to my barbel rod when fishing open water as its a little lighter and flicks a float out better.

I see no justification for the 2.5lb version, this 2.75lb version is forgiving enough.

A brilliant, haunting, dark, but warm voice. Lots of reverb applied, which works well, and is only slightly sickly by the end. If you happen to have a collection of female vocals with deeper than average voices you might not be blown away by this album, but it's a new sound to me and I love it. She possesses a blend of soulful, sexy, ultra cool and occasionally playful tones. The music itself is not too busy and has quite a heavy bass and percussion which gives it an edge and more momentum than many 'proper' female solo singers. Much of the album has a kind of cynical, depressive, reflective feel which certainly suits her vocals. I agree with another reviewer who says the 'samples' give it a nineties hip-hop feel sometimes, but to me this works really well. The BBC review correctly states the album fades a little later on...but every album I own does that.

Having been so impressed with Dreamland and particulatrly, 23AM I thought it was about time I bought another RM album. This was not quite what I'd hoped for though, although it does lend even more respoct to RM due to the production. I dont want to be over negative because it is stunningly nice music and the sounds are beautiful. If there were music when the universe was created, this was it.

However, I like the odd vocals, a least, and there are none here. Quite a lot of uninspiring and not subtle electric guitar work in the more musical tracks. I imagine this is similar to pink Floyd's instrumental stuff and I imagine if you are a fan of that you will fall in love with this.

Probably an album I will enjoy immensly when I have a headache, or don't feel like lisening to more conventional music.

This is a great looking, nice, solid light fitting made of quality parts and materials. If I were being really picky I'd say it were slightly asymmetrical, but I'm not so I wont! (infact its a lot straighter than in the photo). You will not be dissappointed with this product.

There seems to have been a trend in headphone sound over the last few years/decade, to mute the bass and sharpen treble to an uncomfortably harsh level. Perhaps to please the mp3 generation who have been trained to appreciate 'deaf by cymbal'. Sennheiser has managed to escape this habit and produced a smooth, warm, very slightly bassy sound with clear, airy and smooth mids and trebles. I would even compare these headphones to listening to Vinyl (even on my Ipod) with a very slight tweak on the bass. Beautiful. And I am mega fussy - I just returned my Dr Dre Tours. These IE6's bellow perfectly if you increase your bass - No Doubt's Hella Good sounds as sharp, deep and easy as my floor standing Kefs - but the bass is great without adjusting your equalizer. Vocals sound like the singer is breathing on your neck and the messy, heavy percussion and guitars of The Pretty Reckless sound controlled and revealed.

If you can't afford these you could go for the sound magic PL30's, but they don't last long and aren't on the same level - although at least they try.

The proven, over-ear design minimizes mechanical noise and improves ergonomics by taking the weight off the bud - if you don't mind sweeping your cable over your ears, like a girl flirting! Whoever developed this first should be honoured!

Finally the perfect headphone for a fair enough price. Thanks Sennheiser. At least someone remembers how music should sound!!

Update: A temporary crackling came and went (after some time). Must have been 'burning in' I guess. These headphones really are AMAZING. The treble has become even clearer. I'm sure they will be the best I ever own. Buy them. Don't think about it, just buy them!